Why Study Lacan (w/ Andrew Flores AKA The Big Signorelli)

Mar 7, 2025

Andrew Flores, an autodidact in Freudo-Lacanian psychoanalysis, philosophy, and Marxism, dives deep into Lacan's complex theories. He unpacks the intricacies of subjectivity, discussing the role of transference in therapy and the dialectical dance between desire and drive. With wit, he navigates the symbolic order and critiques ego psychology, shedding light on how these concepts can illuminate contemporary political and cultural discussions. Andrew also offers guidance on accessible readings and the challenges of engaging with Lacanian texts.

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Intro

00:00 • 4min

Navigating Lacanian Theory and Podcast Sustainability

04:30 • 2min

Unpacking Lacanian Philosophy

06:31 • 26min

Navigating Lacanian Complexity

32:22 • 23min

Exploring Transference in Psychoanalytic Therapy

55:22 • 3min

Lacan's Psychoanalytic Framework

58:06 • 21min

Navigating the Symbolic Order

01:19:10 • 8min

Exploring Lacan's Symbolic Order and the Death Drive

01:26:41 • 2min

Desire, Drive, and Subjectivity in Psychoanalysis

01:28:47 • 22min

Exploring Lacanian Psychoanalysis

01:51:00 • 16min

Pascal, Lacan, and the Other

02:07:13 • 7min

Unveiling the Lacanian Real

02:13:53 • 21min

Exploring the Depths of Psychosis and Neurosis

02:35:21 • 2min

Reading Seminars I and II

Lacan's Return to Freud

Bruce Fink

Bruce Fink's "Reading Seminars I and II" provides a comprehensive guide to Lacan's early seminars. The book offers detailed explanations of key concepts and their clinical implications, making Lacan's complex ideas more accessible to readers. Fink's writing style is known for its clarity and precision, avoiding unnecessary jargon. He skillfully bridges the gap between Lacan's dense prose and a more accessible explanation. The book is a valuable resource for students and anyone interested in learning about Lacanian psychoanalysis.

Subjectivity and Otherness

Lorenzo Chiesa

Lorenzo Chiesa's "Subjectivity and Otherness" offers a systematic exploration of Jacques Lacan's work, tracing the evolution of his key concepts across different periods. The book provides a rigorous and detailed analysis of Lacan's theoretical framework, making it a valuable resource for those seeking a deeper understanding of his complex ideas. Chiesa's writing is characterized by its clarity and precision, making complex concepts more accessible to readers. The book is structured chronologically, allowing readers to follow the development of Lacan's thought. It is a significant contribution to Lacanian scholarship, offering a comprehensive and insightful interpretation of his work.

How to Do Things with Words

J.L. Austin

J.L. Austin's "How to Do Things with Words" is a highly influential work in the philosophy of language. It introduces the concept of speech acts, arguing that language is not merely descriptive but also performative. Austin distinguishes between constative utterances (statements that describe) and performative utterances (statements that do something), such as making a promise or issuing a command. He analyzes the conditions under which performative utterances are successful, highlighting the social and contextual factors that shape their meaning and effect. The book has had a profound impact on linguistics, philosophy, and literary theory.

Infinite Greed

Adrian Johnston

Adrian Johnston's "Infinite Greed" applies Lacanian psychoanalysis to the analysis of capitalism and the capitalist subject. The book explores the relationship between Lacanian drive theory and the dynamics of capitalist desire, offering a unique perspective on economic systems. Johnston's work is characterized by its rigorous philosophical analysis and its insightful engagement with contemporary social and political issues. He skillfully integrates Lacanian concepts with Marxist critiques of capitalism, providing a compelling framework for understanding the psychological dimensions of economic systems. The book is a significant contribution to critical theory, offering a nuanced and thought-provoking analysis of the interplay between psychoanalysis and political economy.

Unknown Book by Michael Potter

Michael Potter

The Lacanian Subject

Between Language and Jouissance

Bruce Fink

Bruce Fink's "The Lacanian Subject" provides a clear and accessible introduction to Lacan's complex theories. The book carefully explains key Lacanian concepts, making them understandable to readers without prior knowledge of psychoanalysis. Fink's writing style is known for its clarity and precision, avoiding unnecessary jargon. He skillfully bridges the gap between Lacan's dense prose and a more accessible explanation. The book is a valuable resource for students and anyone interested in learning about Lacanian psychoanalysis.

Grundgesetze der Arithmetik

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Gottlob Frege

Gottlob Frege's "Grundgesetze der Arithmetik" (Basic Laws of Arithmetic) is a foundational work in mathematical logic and the philosophy of mathematics. It aimed to rigorously derive arithmetic from logic, establishing the foundations of mathematics in logical principles. Frege's work introduced important concepts such as quantifiers, functions, and the distinction between sense and reference. However, the system was later shown to be inconsistent due to Russell's paradox, which revealed a contradiction within Frege's axioms. Despite this, "Grundgesetze" remains a landmark achievement in the history of logic and philosophy of mathematics.

Unknown Book by Jakob von Uexküll

Jakob von Uexküll

The Purloined Letter

Edgar Allan Poe

The story takes place in Paris and revolves around the theft of a letter from a royal woman by Minister D—, who uses its contents to blackmail her. The Paris police, led by Prefect G—, are unable to find the letter despite thorough searches. C. Auguste Dupin, an amateur detective, is approached for help and eventually retrieves the letter by understanding the minister's mindset and hiding it in plain sight. Dupin's method involves disguising himself and creating a distraction to swap the original letter with a fake one. The story highlights Dupin's analytical skills and his ability to think like a criminal to solve the mystery[2][3][4].

Course in General Linguistics

Ferdinand de Saussure

Published posthumously in 1916, 'Course in General Linguistics' is a compilation of notes taken by Charles Bally and Albert Sechehaye from Ferdinand de Saussure's lectures at the University of Geneva between 1906 and 1911. The book is a seminal work in the field of linguistics, introducing key concepts such as the linguistic sign, which consists of the signifier (the form of a word or phrase) and the signified (the concept it represents). Saussure argues that language should be analyzed as a formal system of differential elements, emphasizing the importance of understanding language as a structured system of differences rather than a mere collection of words and rules. This work laid the groundwork for structuralism, a dominant approach in the humanities and social sciences in the 20th century.

Lacan - the Unconscious Reinvented

Colette Soler

Colette Soler's "Lacan: The Unconscious Reinvented" offers a fresh perspective on Lacan's work, focusing on his reinterpretation of the unconscious. The book explores Lacan's unique approach to psychoanalysis, highlighting his contributions to the field. Soler's writing style is both insightful and accessible, making complex ideas easier to grasp. She emphasizes the clinical implications of Lacan's theories, demonstrating their relevance to therapeutic practice. The book is a valuable resource for those interested in understanding Lacan's impact on contemporary psychoanalysis.

Unknown Book by Lucien Goldmann

Lucien Goldmann

Unknown Book by Kojin Karatani

Kojin Karatani

Jacques Lacan's Ontology

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Adrian Johnston

Adrian Johnston's "Jacques Lacan's Ontology" delves into the philosophical underpinnings of Lacan's work, exploring the ontological implications of his psychoanalytic theories. The book provides a rigorous and insightful analysis of Lacan's engagement with ontology, clarifying his complex concepts and their philosophical significance. Johnston's writing style is characterized by its clarity and precision, making complex ideas more accessible to readers. He skillfully connects Lacan's work to broader philosophical debates, demonstrating its relevance to contemporary philosophical inquiry. The book is a valuable resource for those interested in understanding the philosophical dimensions of Lacanian psychoanalysis.

Being and Event

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Alain Badiou

Alain Badiou's "Being and Event" is a significant work in contemporary philosophy, exploring the relationship between ontology and mathematics. Badiou develops a unique ontological framework based on set theory, arguing that mathematics provides a fundamental model for understanding Being. He introduces the concept of the event as a rupture in the existing order of Being, creating new possibilities and transformations. The book is characterized by its rigorous philosophical argumentation and its innovative approach to ontology. Its influence extends across various fields, shaping discussions on ontology, politics, and the nature of truth.

Unknown Book by Michael Downs

Michael Downs

Principia mathematica

Alfred North Whitehead

Bertrand Russell

Jacques Lacan's Seminars

A collection of lectures

Jacques Lacan

Jacques Lacan's seminars are a collection of lectures delivered by the influential French psychoanalyst over several decades. These seminars delve into complex psychoanalytic concepts, re-interpreting Freudian theory through the lens of structuralism and linguistics. Lacan's work is characterized by its dense and challenging prose, often employing neologisms and unconventional interpretations of established concepts. His ideas have had a profound impact on various fields, including philosophy, literary theory, and cultural studies. The seminars are considered essential reading for anyone seriously engaging with Lacanian psychoanalysis.

Pensées

Blaise Pascal

The 'Pensées' is an unfinished work by Blaise Pascal, intended as a comprehensive defense of the Christian faith. It consists of fragments and notes that Pascal was compiling before his death in 1662. The work is characterized by its psychological and philosophical approach, particularly evident in Pascal's Wager, which argues for the rationality of believing in God. Pascal's writing highlights the contradictions and complexities of human nature, emphasizing both the wretchedness and greatness of humanity. The 'Pensées' also critiques skepticism and underscores the importance of seeking spiritual truth beyond mere reason[2][3][5].

The interpretation of dreams

Sigmund Freud

In this seminal work, Freud introduces his theory of the unconscious with respect to dream interpretation and discusses what would later become the theory of the Oedipus complex. He argues that dreams are forms of 'wish fulfillment' and are influenced by unconscious forces and censorship. The book differentiates between the manifest content and latent content of dreams and explores the mechanisms of dream formation, including displacement and the 'dream-work'. Freud uses his own dreams and those of his patients to illustrate his theories, providing a deeply personal and insightful look into the human psyche[1][3][5].

Philosophical Investigations

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Published posthumously in 1953, 'Philosophical Investigations' is a seminal work by Ludwig Wittgenstein that challenges many of the ideas presented in his earlier work, 'Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus'. The book is divided into two parts and consists of short observations or 'remarks' that delve into topics such as the theory of language, language games, meaning, symbols, concepts, and categories. Wittgenstein argues that the meaning of a word is derived from its use within the context of a language-game, rejecting the idea that words gain meaning by referencing objects or mental representations. He emphasizes the importance of understanding language as a tool for communication and social interaction, rather than as a system for representing objective reality[2][4][5].

For they know not what they do

Slavoj Žižek

Critique of pure reason

Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" is a monumental work in philosophy that revolutionized epistemology and metaphysics. It explores the limits of human reason and the conditions under which knowledge is possible. Kant argues that our experience is shaped by inherent structures of the mind, known as categories of understanding. The book delves into the nature of space, time, and causality, and how these concepts structure our perception of the world. Its influence on subsequent philosophical thought is immeasurable, shaping debates on knowledge, morality, and the nature of reality.

Being and time

Martin Heidegger

In 'Being and Time', Heidegger delves into the fundamental question of what it means to 'be'. The book is divided into two main divisions: the first analyzes the existentials of Dasein, or 'being-in-the-world', while the second grounds these existentials in temporality. Heidegger introduces key concepts such as 'Dasein', 'Being-with', and the three temporal ecstases (having-been, present, and to-come), emphasizing that Dasein's existence is essentially futural and characterized by its possibilities and projects. The work challenges traditional philosophical notions of subject and object, instead positing that Dasein is inseparable from its world and historical context[2][4][5].